Building construction



Oct. 25, 1955 E. o. WILLIAMS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1949 INVENTOR Ewuv Owe/v WILLIAMS r Oct. 25, 1955 E. o. WILLIAMS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14, 1949 INVENTOR Eww OWEN WILLIAMS Ma Oct. 25, 1955 E. o. WILLIAMS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 14. 1949 INVENTOR- Eww OWEN WILLIAMS A'rTys.

Oct. 25, 1955 E. o. WILLIAMS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 14, 1949 M A R u s K Y /N a l! E A. AN v u %N N E w. a W W Q N 3 w as 3 @Q M W 3M. M Q R mu my x Q Q Q Q &. 3/ x Q a L w .1 w. \Mb ,u nlFD. D I] Oct. 25, 1955 E. o, WILLIAMS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 14, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 III I fly/3 IvvE/vToR fvmv GWEN WILLIAMS United States Patent BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Evan Owen Williams, London, England Application October 14, 1949, Serial No. 121,266

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 25, 1948 3 Claims. (Cl. 189-1.5)

This invention relates to the construction of airplane hangars, assembly sheds and other like buildings of extensive and unobstructed floor area and volume.

The conventional form of construction of such buildings, i. e. rectangular in plan and rectangular in crosssection, while reasonably satisfactory in the smaller sizes becomes increasingly uneconomical as the size and volume is increased. In connection with airplane hangars, for example, the progressive increase in both width and height necessary to accommodate the enhanced size of modern aircraft has imposed problems of increasing difficulty regarding inherent strength and stability while the cost has become comparable with and may even exceed that of the aircraft themselves.

Hitherto some attempt has been made in the larger type of hangar to provide the headroom which is required only at the centre by the use of arched roofs but always retaining the rectangular plan. A study of the shape, in plan, of aircraft indicates that a rectangule is not necessarily the most suitable figure for economically covering the craft many of which have an enveloping plan resembling that of a triangle with one side, that of the forward end of the craft, rounded out; other crafts having an enveloping plan which more nearly resembles that of a rhombus. Much of the covered space in a building of rectangular plan is therefore, in such 2. hangar application, wasted for its primary purpose of covering the craft. Furthermore in a building of rectangular plan and the resultant provision of at least four spaced points of ground anchorage and support, the problem of the stresses set up by unpredictable loading due to uneven ground settlement becomes increasingly acute and ditficult of economical solution as the size is increased.

The object of this invention is to provide a more economical construction for buildings of the types referred to and, in the case of airplane hangars, better suited to the shape in plan and in elevation of modern aircraft.

In accordance with the broadest aspect of the invention a building or a unit portion thereof has the form of a dome-shaped upper shell whose lower peripheral edge is supported upon a structure of arches springing from three spaced ground anchorage points. In a preferred form the three ground anchorage points form the corners of an equilateral triangle whereby, if desired, a building of extended floor area may be formed by arranging a plurality of similar units in nested location each with its own domed upper shell.

The dome-shaped shell may be formed as a parthemisphere or, particularly where glazing thereof is required, as a shallow truncated three-sided pyramid completed at its apical region by a part-hemisphere forming a smooth upward continuation of the pyramid.

The lower arched structure for the upper dome is, of course, covered in between the arched supporting members and the resultant outward form may be that of a segment of a hemisphere from which portions have 2,721,630 Patented Oct. 25, 1955 been removed by cuts upon three vertical planes forming between them a triangle, or alternatively the outward form may resemble a cone frustum from which portions have similarly been removed by cuts on three vertical planes. In a further modification, particularly adapted to the provision of glazing over part of the wall area of such arched structure, the outward form is one of a triangular pyramid from which portions have been removed in vertical planes lying at right angles to the lines joining the corners and the centre of the base area of the pyramid.

The construction of the domed-shaped upper shell and the lower arched structure may be carried out in any suitable materials, for example, in steel framing with sheet metal or sheet asbestos covering but more preferably the construction according to the invention is carried out in reinforced concrete. The arched supporting members of the lower arched structure constitute the major strength providing elements of the building, the upper dome-shaped shell and any areas between the arched supporting members being designed more with a view to providing the requisite coverage than of providing strength to the structure.

In order that the various features of the invention may be more readily understood a number of examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figs. 1 and 2 are purely diagrammatic plan and elevational views respectively illustrating the basic features of one embodiment of the invention.

Figs. 3 and 4 are further diagrammatic views, similar to Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

Figs. 5 and 6 are still further diagrammatic views, again similar to Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating a further embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a plan view, partly in section, showing one practical application of the invention to the construction of an airplane hangar.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation looking in the direction of the arrow VIII of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line IX-IX of Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing one simple arrangement of a multiplicity of units according to the invention for the construction of a building of extended area.

Figs. 11 and 12 are plan and elevational views respectively of an extended building, for instance, a hanger of very large area and accompanying workshops utilising a plurality of units according to the invention, while Fig. 13 is a plan view and Fig. 14 is a perspective view of another application of the invention to an airplane hangar construction.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the form of structure there shown consists of a part-hemisphere 10 of radius r from which three portions have been cut in vertical planes along the lines 11 which jointly form an equilateral triangle between the three points 12 spaced around the periphery of the base area of the original part-hemisphere 10. The height of the part-hemisphere is conveniently of the order of one quarter of its base diameter.

By virtue of the removal of these three portions there remains an unmutilated dome-shaped shell portion 13 whose periphery is indicated by the dotted line 14 and this is supported at an elevated position above the level of the base plane 15 of the part-hemisphere 10 by the lower arched structure 16 which is characterised by the three arched supporting members, shown in double lines, formed at the cutting planes of the lines 11.

The points 12, hereinafter referred to as ground anchorage points, lying at the corners of the triangle constitute the sole supporting and connection points between the structure and the ground and in consequence thereof there will be no unpredictable stresses on the arched supporting members on the upper shell should settlement of one corner be greater than that of another. The arched supporting members 11 are inherently strong and constitute the principal weight supporting elements while the inherent strength of the domed shell formation is highly suited to the resisting of loads such as may occur with snow or wind at one side more than on another.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a similar but alternative arrangement in which the upper dome-shaped shell 13 of parthemispherical form its retained but is supported at elevated position upon a lower arched structure 16 which, instead of being generated from a part-hemispherical shell as in Figs. 1 and 2, is derived from a part-conical shell 17. This arched structure 16 is generated from a cone frustum lying between the planes 14 and 15 and from which three portions have been removed by cuts in vertical planes along the lines 11 again to provide an equilateral triangle shape in plan between the three ground anchorage points 12.

The dimension and inclination of the cone frustum 17 is such, with relation to the domed shell 13 completing the coverage thereof, that there is a smooth continuation from one to the other at the junction region in the plane 14. In this instance the lower arched structure 16 is again characterised by three arched supporting members defining the apertures in the cutting planes 11 and as shown in double lines.

In the further embodiment illustrated in Figures and 6 the upper domed-shaped shell 13 is not truly a parthemisphere but is a combination of an upper part-hemispherical section 18 merging smoothly into a cone frustum 19. This domed shell 13 is supported at its elevated position upon a lower arched structure 20 which is derived from a triangular pyramid 21 whose initial shape is shown in chain-dotted lines and from which portions have been cut in the three vertical planes corresponding to the lines 11 which each lie at right-angles to the lines joining the original base corners of the pyramid to the centre of its base area. The latter is coincidental with the vertical axis through the centre of the upper dome-shaped shell 13. The resultant form of the lower supporting structure 20 is shown in full lines and again comprises the three main arched supporting members 11 extending between the three equi-spaced ground anchorage points 12 which lie at the corners of an equilateral triangle. Such supporting structure presents at the regions between the downwardly convergent arched supporting members 11, areas which are of planar form eminently suitable for the application of glazing as a means of effecting both coverage and light transmission to the interior.

In this last embodiment, by virtue of the hexagonal perimeter of the upper terminating surface of the lower structure 20 and the circular perimeter of the lower edge of the upper dome-shaped shell 13, there is necessarily provided a platform disposed in a horizontal plane at the junction region 14 in order to combine the two upper and lower structure portions 13 and 20. This platform is not disadvantageous and has, in fact, been found most advantageous in that it may be formed as a ring hereinafter termed a shoulder slab 22 which can be given a high mechanical strength and which, by virtue of its association with the bottom edge of the upper dome-shaped shell 13 can be used to enhance the strength of the latter in its ability to resist any displacement or spreading forces due to unequal loading such as may be caused by wind pressure on one side or the deposition of snow of unequal depth at various points thereof. In this way the dome-shaped shell 13 itself may be made of much lighter construction with consequent saving of weight of materials and cost.

The provision of such shoulder slab 22, which is a feature of the present invention, may also advantageously be made in the previous embodiments of'Figs. 1 and 2 and Figs. 3 and 4 where its application merely involves the provision thereof at the junction plane 14 between the upper shell 13 and the lower arched structure. Such provision may be accompanied by a dilference of diameter between the bottom periphery of the upper domed-shaped shell 13 and the periphery of the circular or other shaped upper plane of the arched structure.

In order to illustrate in greater detail how the basic conception already outlined in connection with the previous Figs. 1 to 6 may be put to practical application in the construction of, for instance, an airplane hangar, one practical form of such hangar will now be described in some detail with reference to Figs. 7, 8 and 9.

Referring to these figures the building consists essentially of a lower arched structure 20, which is of the form derived from a triangular pyramid in the manner already referred to in connection with Figs. 5 and 6, and an upper part-conical/part-spherical dome-shaped shell 13 which is supported at the elevated level determined by the upper edge of the lower arched structure 20, the interconnection of the upper and lower parts being effected through the intermediary of a shoulder slab 22.

The lower arched structure 20 consists essentially of three main arched supporting members 25 of reinforced ferro-concrete girder construction arranged along the sides of an equilateral triangle and having their lower ends united with and supported at the ground anchorage points by the anchor blocks 26. These anchor blocks 26 (Fig. 9) have an upper part 27 projecting above the ground level 28 and a lower foundation 29 which is buried in the usual manner in the supporting ground. The lower ends of the arched supporting members 25 connect with said anchor blocks 26 near their uppermost end so as to provide the maximum effective headroom even at the three lower corners of the lower structure 20.

The central regions of each of the main arched supporting members 25 combine with the shoulder slab 22 which takes the form of an unbroken ring having a vertical circular rib 30 and a horizontal web 31 projecting outwardly therefrom. The rib 30 of the ring is provided with an inwardly directed flange 32 around its lower edge while at its upper end it is combined with an upwardly and inwardly inclined flange 33 which forms a support for the lower ends of a plurality of pre-cast concrete beams 34 of V-section which, at their upper ends, rest upon and are secured to a dependent circular flange 35 formed at the lower circular periphery of the dome-shaped shell portion 18 which is of thin reinforced concrete construction.

The areas between the pair of arched supporting members 25 converging on to the anchor blocks 26 are of planar form and carry transverse horizontal bearers 37 at suitably spaced intervals between which are arranged suitable glazing panels 38 in any convenient and known constructional manner. The upper limit of these glazing panels is conveniently made substantially coincidental with the plane of the bottom level of the vertical rib 30 of the shoulder slab 22 and the vertical space between such termination level and the underside of the projecting horizontal platform portion 31 is again filled with suitable glazing 39. The platform 31 is arranged slightly to overhang such vertical glazing 39. The vertical glazing 39, which constitute three of the six sides of the hexagonal shape of the upper limit of the lower arched structure 211 are repeated by further similar vertical glazed portions 40 overlying the centre of the three arched openings.

The spaces between the plurality of converging concrete beams 34 of the upper domed-shaped shell are again filled in with glazing 41 supported in any convenient and known manner in between said beams. If, as is usually the case, fiat glazing is employed then the lower portion of this upper domed-shaped shell 13 becomes more correctly a part of a multi-sided pyramid instead of a cone frustum but such shape is intended to be included in the general frusto-conical form which it closely resembles. The relative dimensions of the glazed and unglazed portions of the upper domed-shaped shell are conveniently between 1:1 and 2:2, the relative expense and weight being roughly equal for any ratio between these two limits, while the light transmission is similarly substantially unafiected due to the permissible decrease in width and number of the beams 34 with the smaller glazing dimension.

The inwardly directed flange 32 at the lower end of the vertical circular rib 30 of the shoulder slab 22 forms a convenient support for a circular track rail 42 carrying thereon a rotatable crane gantry 43 on which is mounted the usual traversable hoisting mechanism 44. By virtue of the rotatability of this gantry and the traversability of the hoisting mechanism 44, anywhere within the projected area of the shoulder slab ring 30 isaccessible for cranage.

The construction of the building is, as previously noted, conveniently carried out in reinforced concrete and the configuration and design of the various parts described may be made in accordance with the established practice of the art. The ground anchorage blocks 26 are necessarily of massive construction and conveniently have their buried foundation portions 29 extended considerably away from the building so as to provide a platform which can be loaded during the constructional period in order to provide for proper take-up of the weight by gradual removal of such loading as the shuttering used in the reinforced concrete construction of the building itself is being struck.

A building such as that described generally in connection with Figs. 1 to 6 or more particularly in, connection with Figs. 7 to 9 may conveniently form a unitary part of a larger building constituted by a plurality of interested units. Fig. 10 illustrates an elementary form of such inter-nested arrangement where six units A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 each similar to any of those described are arranged symmetrically in hexagonal form. The central ground anchorage point B for the arched supporting members of each of the units is formed as a single element while the adjacent anchorages C at the six equi-distance points around the perimeter are also combined. Preferably, but not essentially, the arches defining the adjacent side planes of the nested units are combined in the form of a single arch of appropriate strength.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 10, four of the six units i. e. those of units A1, A2, A4 and A5 are proposed for use as hanger space and the remaining two units A3 and A6, lying diametrically opposed to the one another are suggested for use as workshops or the like. By the erection of a suitable low wall 50 the centre areas of the units A1, A2, A4 and A5, which are of lesser headroom may be combined with the workshop area, which may be divided off by ordinary walls 51.

The circular crane tracks D, one in each unit as shown are interconnected by transfer junction tracks E, such tracks forming a continuation of the'diametral tracks D provided on the crane gantries for traversing the hoisting mechanism whereby the latter may be moved from one crane gentry to the next and so on around the complete closed circuit thereby permitting easy transfer of any load between the workshop units and any of the hangar units. These transfer or junction tracks E are conveniently provided by suitable rails suspended from the underside of the shoulder slabs of the supporting structures of the units.

Figs. 11 and 12 show a more ambitious arrangement of inter-nested units wherein two sections A10, A11 each composed of five alternately disposed units as previously described are disposed on each side of a central and rectanregular Workshop building F of relatively low elevation, such building F being formed between the oppositely facing and aligned rows of arches formed by the alternately arranged units according to the invention. As in the arrangement of Fig. 10 the circular crane tracks D are interconnected by transfer tracks E which pass also to the workship building which includes a further gantry or gantries D1 movable longitudinally therealong, such gantries D1 serving if necessary as a continuation track for any desired hoisting gear to travel from the hangar units on one side of the workshop to those on the other.

In each of the arrangements so far described the arches defined by the three main arched supporting members may be either permanently closed by a vertical wall of suitable material such as brick or sheet metal or glazing although for aircraft hangar use at least one will, of course, be provided with some form of movable door, conveniently a door of the multiple section folding type. This door may be arranged in the manner shown more clearly in Fig. 12 where the doors 59 are shown as supported between end pillars 60 which carry a top horizontal guide 61 lying parallel with and conveniently made integral with the top of the adjacent arched supporting member and the adjoining portion of the shoulder slab.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 11 and 12 also illustrates by way of example an alternative manner of providing glazing over part of the coverage area between the converging and descending arches of the lower structure by means of the clerestory windows 62. In this embodiment for the sake of illustration of possible alternatives the upper dome-shaped shells 13 are shown as unglazed and each made as a single thin section reinforced concrete shell extending downwards and with its lower perimeter connected to the related circular shoulder slab 22.

A further construction embodying the invention is shownin Figs. 13 and 14. This embodiment, which is more particularly suited for the construction of a single unit building particularly for a single large sized aircraft follows closely upon the lines already described and is in closer accord with the spherical form fundamentally illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

This modification comprises a dome-shaped upper shell 13 supported at its lower periphery upon a circular shoulder slab 22 which is structurally combined with the upper edge of the lower arched structure 20 which is generally in the form of a truncated part-hemisphere cut upon vertical planes in the manner already described. The upper and lower spherical surfaces of the structure are conveniently of substantially similar radius to form a smooth and almost unbroken continuation one of the other.

In this embodiment the main opening of the building constituted by one of the arches 25 is closed by a series of cupola doors 70, 71 which follow the spherical contour of the lower arched structure and are carried upon lower inwardly coned circular track rails 72, 73 and upper outwardly coned circular track rails 74, 75 mounted on the lower supporting structure near to or on the shoulder slab 22. These cupola doors 70, 71 are conveniently made in four sections, two to each side and with one overlapping the other 71 in the manner shown whereby they may be transferred, in the open position of the door, to positions overlapping one another and covering the winged extensions 76 of the lower spherical supporting structure so as to leave the doorway completely unobstructed. The provision of these winged extensions 76 is conveniently combined with an ordinary rectangular building structure 77 of low elevation disposed at the rear of the arched lower supporting structure so as to form convenient workshops or other buildings.

With this last mentioned construction advantage is taken of the increased coverage area afforded by the cupola type doors which virtually extend the coverage area out to that of a semi-circle from the vertical axis of the building; such extended coverage is of considerable advantage with many forms of modern aircraft where the overall outline as shown in chain dotted lines at X has an enveloping plan which is substantially rhomoidal in form. The extended coverage area provided beneath the winged extensions 76 is also of advantage in accommodating the wing tips of the aircraft. Furthermore the spherical form of the cupola doors provides for greatly decreased wind resistance whether open or closed while the appearance of the building is enhanced in that they virtually form a continuation of the otherwise partspherical form thereof.

In this embodiment and in those previously described the doors are preferably and in most cases essentially arranged for power operation.

By the construction of this invention in its application to airplane hangars the requisite enclosure and protection may be made with a building which is only half the floor area and a third of the volume of a rectangular building of comparable size to deal with any given aircraft while at the same time the construction is of a form which reduces the effects of and may readily be given adequate strength to withstand wind pressures, unpredictable loadings and so forth.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art many modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, a wide variety of inter-nesting arrangements are possible such as that of four units of equilateral triangular plan as described, placed one centrally and the other three adjacent one to each side of such central unit. Such a disposition while giving a covered area four times that of a single unit, needs ground supporting points located only along the outer sides. A wide variety of movable door constructions are also possible such as for instance, the use of part-cylindrical doors running upon circular tracks and terminating in a horizontal plane at a convenient height above ground level but appreciably less than the centre height of the arched openings. The remainder of the opening above doors may then be closed by a fixed canopy or porch constituted by a downward continuation of the outer spherical or conical shell contour from the shoulder slab. If aircraft having a tall tail fin or fins have to be accommodated this canopy may be provided with one or more vertical slots closed by a rolling shutter. Similarly the crane gantry or equivalent member could be suspended or partly suspended from a central pivot instead of entirely operating upon a circular track.

The shaping of structures according to the invention, largely devoid of extensive plane areas disposed perpendicular to the ground level, coupled with the use of reinforced concrete instead of lattice girders results in a material reduction of the reflection coefficient or response given thereby to radar exploring pulses with consequential reduction of ground clutter caused thereby to the ground or aircraft radar equipment operating in the vicinity.

The invention .is clearly not restricted to use only in the construction of airplane hangars. It is clearly of ready application to the construction of any large coveredin building such as workshops, assembly halls, exhibition halls, covered car parks and so forth where large floor area with the minimum of obstruction is required. By suitable addition of inter-nested units in the manner already referred to a building of almost limitless proportions may be provided.

I claim:

1. A building such as an aeroplane hangar comprising three ground anchor blocks disposed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, three arched supporting members springing upwardly from and supported at their lowermost ends by different pairs of said ground anchor blocks, a horizontal ring-shaped shoulder slab supported by the three uppermost points of said arched supporting members, said shoulder slab comprising a vertical circular web, a horizontal hexagonal web projecting outwardly from said circular web at the upper end thereof, an inwardly directed flange projecting from said circular web at the lower end thereof and an upwardly and inwardly inclined flange projecting from the annulus of junction of said circular web and said horizontal web, and a dome-shaped shell supported by said upwardly and inwardly inclined flange of said shoulder slab.

2. A building such as an aeroplane hangar comprising three reinforced concrete ground anchor blocks disposed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, three arched supporting members of reinforced ferroconcrete construction springing respectively from and supported at their lowermost ends by said ground anchor blocks, the projection of said three arched supporting members on to a horizontal plane at the level of said three ground anchor blocks forming said equilateral triangle, each of said arched supporting members comprising a plurality of girders carrying spaced transverse horizontal bearers having glazing panels therebetwecn, a ring-shaped shoulder slab supported by the three uppermost points of said arched supporting members, a plurality of V-section concrete beams upwardly and inwardly inclined from and supported by said shoulder slab and carrying further spaced transverse horizontal bearers having glazing panels therebetween and a dome-shaped shell supported by the upper ends of said V-section beams.

3. A building such as an aeroplane hangar comprising three ground anchor blocks disposed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, three arched supporting members springing respectively from and supported at their lowermost ends by said ground anchor blocks, a ring-shaped shoulder slab supported by said arched supporting members at the three uppermost points of said arched supporting members, a plurality of V-section concrete beams upwardly and inwardly inclined from and supported by said ring-shaped shoulder slab carrying spaced transverse horizontal bearers having glazing panels therebetween and a thin reinforced concrete part-spherical domeshaped shell having a dependent circular peripheral flange, said dome-shaped shell being united with the upper ends of said V-section beams by way of said dependent flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,402,077 Lanchester Jan. 3, 1922 1,773,656 Wasilkowski Aug. 19, 1930 1,837,152 Ellsworth Dec. 15, 1931 1,861,069 Smith May 31, 1932 1,940,401 Dischinger Dec. 19, 1933 2,231,396 Smits Feb. 11, 1941 2,420,186 Miller et al May 6, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 724,901 France of 1932 OTHER REFERENCES Engineering News Record, September 29, 1932, pages 375-376. 

